Newslinks for Tuesday 26th January 2016

Google to pay three times more tax in France than in UK

“Google is negotiating a tax settlement with France worth three times the amount it paid to Britain despite the internet giant doing more business and employing thousands more people in this country… Last night Downing Street appeared to distance itself from the deal, which was originally described by George Osborne as a ‘major success’. The prime minister’s spokeswoman called it only a ‘positive step forward’” – The Times (£)

Mental health deaths show NHS “struggling to cope”

“A sudden spike in the number of mental health patients dying unexpectedly in NHS care has prompted calls for a wide-ranging investigation into ‘threadbare’ services that are ‘struggling to cope’… Figures obtained by Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat MP, show that the overall number of ‘serious incidents’ – involving unexpected or avoidable deaths, serious harm, injury and abuse – has climbed 34 per cent to 8,139 a year” – Guardian

Bombshell report condemns NHS 111 service as not safe for sick children – Daily Mail

Lord Parkinson dies after career blighted by affair

“Lord Parkinson, who has died aged 84, was arguably the best Party Chairman the Conservative Party had since the 1950s and looked set, after masterminding Margaret Thatcher’s landslide election victory in 1983, to go on to greater things; but his progression to high office was fatally compromised later that year by revelations that his former secretary, Sara Keays, was expecting his child” – Daily Telegraph obituary

Kirkup: The next Tory leader may be someone new

“Conservative MPs are starting to wonder whether their next leader will not, in fact, be George Osborne, Boris Johnson or even Theresa May. Listen carefully in the dark corners and quiet nooks of the Commons and you hear a faint murmuring, the first signs of an appetite for something else. Something more. Something new” – James Kirkup, Daily Telegraph

Fears that pro-EU claims will dismay the public

“A confusing flurry of claims and counter claims about the benefits of Britain’s membership of the EU will only serve to dismay the public, experts warned on Monday. The criticism came after the campaign group Britain Stronger in Europe released a report filled with positive spin about trade, investment, incomes, employment and growth” – Financial Times

Whoops! Lord Rose shows any other name does not smell as sweet – Sebastian Payne, Financial Times

Corbyn’s migration policy would make Calais more of a magnet, says Cameron – Guardian

Asylum-seeking children lead to care crisis in Kent

“British children are being sent to care homes outside their county because social services are overwhelmed with unaccompanied child asylum seekers. Council officials in Kent say that they have no choice but to place local children elsewhere as a result of the large influx of migrant children. The council has 924 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) aged under 18 in its care, up from about 630 at the start of last August” – The Times (£)

EU suspends Schengen in order to stop migrants

“Europe’s passport-free travel zone is set to be suspended for two years after EU ministers demanded a stop to the influx of migrants. Brussels was instructed to suspend the Schengen zone to allow more border checks, while officials are working on plans to lock Greece out of the travel area because the country has failed to stop or register hundreds of thousands of migrants” – The Times (£)

ISIS “setting up training camps in Europe”, police warn

“Terror group ISIS has set up secret training camps across Europe to prepare fighters to carry out ‘special forces style’ attacks in the UK or other EU countries, Europol has warned. The international police agency said apart from bases in Syria, the barbaric organisation had ‘smaller scale training camps in the EU and Balkan countries’” – Daily Telegraph

Northern Powerhouse hit by Tech resignation

“Technology entrepreneurs say that the government’s Northern Powerhouse initiative is at risk after the resignation of the head of Tech North, the organisation meant to boost the sector in the region. Claire Braithwaite quit suddenly on Friday just six months after the launch of Tech North, reportedly because of her bosses at London’s Tech City UK attempting to increase their control” – Financial Times

Torrance: Davidson is leading a Scottish Tory revival

“Beyond the appeal to fiscally prudent Scots, the purpose of ‘A Dynamic Scotland’ is clear: to give the party a distinctive message… The taxation commission was proposed by Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson last year, and indeed she now dominates her party and its strategy” – David Torrance, Independent

Corbyn strengthens his grip on Labour machine

“Jeremy Corbyn is expected to strengthen his grip on Labour today as its ruling body considers taking greater control over party appointments and policy making. Labour’s National Executive Committee is due to vote on new terms of reference that could include authority over party jobs and policy. The party leader boasts a slim majority of backers on the 33-member committee” – The Times (£)

Ganesh: Corbyn could save UKIP

“If the apologetic metropolitanism of his predecessor, Ed Miliband, was too much for the northerners who went over to UKIP, the only mystery is where those riled by Mr Corbyn’s unapologetic version end up going. Many will not vote. A few who can swallow their ancestral aversion will go Tory. But UKIP still has what it takes to win the larger share of these votes: economic populism, rhetorical bluntness, name recognition” – Janan Ganesh, Financial Times

If you thought Corbynomics was crazy, take a look at John McDonnell – Matthew Lynn, Daily Telegraph

Danczuk reported over “fraudulent” expenses claims

“Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk has been reported to both the police and the parliamentary standards commissioner over thousands of pounds worth of ‘fraudulent’ expenses claims. The backbencher is accused of claiming more than £25,000 in extra accommodation allowances since 2011 for his children, despite none of them living with him in London. The embattled MP, who was suspended from the Labour Party over allegations he had been sexting with a teenager, said he had not read the rules in detail” – Daily Mail

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